Arizona Athletics receives generous $4.8 million donation

Arizona Athletics has received a generous gift as former Arizona letter winner and longtime Wildcat supporter Douglas Allred has donated $4.8 Million. 

Who doesn’t love gifts? Well, I for one do and am quite certain that Arizona Athletics is loving the recent gift that they received from former letter winner and longtime Wildcat supporter, Douglas Allred.

Making news just days ago, the school announced that Mr. Allred, a major real estate developer and former Arizona Football player from 1955-56, has donated a generous $4.8 million in gifts to Arizona Athletics.

With the goal of supporting Arizona Athletics, as well as enhancing the student-athlete experience, the donation from Allred should go a long way in doing so.

And according to Arizona Athletics, “the funds will support program enhancements for both the football and men’s basketball programs, as well as the Lute Olson Endowment for Excellence in Men’s Basketball.”

Donations are the lifeblood of Arizona Athletics, and these recent donations should help fuel Arizona and its two largest revenue-generating programs.

It is a new day and age in college athletics and perhaps now more than ever, money is playing a bigger and bigger role in the overall success and well-being of college athletics programs. For Arizona, this is certainly the case as well.

While the big schools like Texas A&M, Ohio State, Oregon, Alabama, etc. all reign supreme with deeper donor pockets, luckily, Arizona has been blessed with some very generous people over the years as well. From the Stephens and Davis families, Douglas Allred is just the latest to get involved.

Here is what Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke had to say following the donation:

“Our athletics department’s ability to provide a gold-standard student-athlete experience is powered by the everlasting generosity of our supporters and alumni like Douglas Allred,” said Heeke. “Doug is an exceptional ambassador of our Wildcat Family and University of Arizona community, and he embodies what championship excellence means as a student and an athlete at this flagship institution.”

At Zona Zealots, we are certainly thankful for Mr. Allred and hope for the continued strength and well-being of Arizona Athletics.